I left for three days, my mom was supposed to watch my lizard but completely forgot about him in my room. I went in there, his beard was black, he eyes buldged out but closed he didn’t look like he was breathing and he didn’t respond to my touches. I turned his light on and picked him up, his eyes went to normal, and his beard went down. But he is weak, and barely responsive. I noticed he ate a large part of the paper towel in his enclosure. Is he sick? Is he dying? What do I do. Im terrified and a crying hot mess at 2 AM

Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear this. How sad, he is probably very critical right now. How old& big is he?Do you have any pictures of him along with your tank setup?If he is that critical, you will definitely need to intervene & get him warmed up slowly, overnightso that he can boost his metabolism. Do you have a ceramic heat emitter to keep him around80 or so overnight? Or, a heating pad, set on low you could put him on it to sleep? If you douse a heating pad, be sure to place a towel in between him & the pad to keep it from getting toohot. Do you have any baby foods in the house? If not, I would recommend getting some chickenor turkey baby food, mixed with sweet potatoes & squash baby food, to get into him. You canuse a dropper to drip some onto the end of his nose to see if he will lick that off. Let us know how he is doing.

Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear this. How sad, he is probably very critical right now. How old& big is he?Do you have any pictures of him along with your tank setup?If he is that critical, you will definitely need to intervene & get him warmed up slowly, overnightso that he can boost his metabolism. Do you have a ceramic heat emitter to keep him around80 or so overnight? Or, a heating pad, set on low you could put him on it to sleep? If you douse a heating pad, be sure to place a towel in between him & the pad to keep it from getting toohot. Do you have any baby foods in the house? If not, I would recommend getting some chickenor turkey baby food, mixed with sweet potatoes & squash baby food, to get into him. You canuse a dropper to drip some onto the end of his nose to see if he will lick that off. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

He has made an incredible bounce back. Last night I heated him up with a heat pad and held him all night. Once warmed up he started eating a bit of his salad i made up. This morning he is very alert and jumping around his tank. It seems as if he is feeling a LOT better. But now I’m worried about impaction since he hasn’t pooped the whole time I was gone and he ate that paper towel I told you about. What can I do for this?

Last edited by RyuksMama on Sun Aug 18, 2019 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear this. How sad, he is probably very critical right now. How old& big is he?Do you have any pictures of him along with your tank setup?If he is that critical, you will definitely need to intervene & get him warmed up slowly, overnightso that he can boost his metabolism. Do you have a ceramic heat emitter to keep him around80 or so overnight? Or, a heating pad, set on low you could put him on it to sleep? If you douse a heating pad, be sure to place a towel in between him & the pad to keep it from getting toohot. Do you have any baby foods in the house? If not, I would recommend getting some chickenor turkey baby food, mixed with sweet potatoes & squash baby food, to get into him. You canuse a dropper to drip some onto the end of his nose to see if he will lick that off. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

He also seems very dehydrated but won’t take water from his nose. The only thing I can think to do other than that would be to give him baths?

I dont think the paper towel will hurt him-- I have heard a lot worse things beardies have eaten like money coins etc.............. just watch for his poop - I am sure he will go soon--- are his basking temps around 105-110 or so ----------they tend to like it warmerKarrie

It sounds like he is doing a lot better pretty quickly then once you got him warmed up& his body started functioning more optimally, too.How is he doing today?That's a great thing he is eating his greens & salad. Were you able to get more oral fluidsinto him? Let me know how he is doing.

It sounds like he is doing a lot better pretty quickly then once you got him warmed up& his body started functioning more optimally, too.How is he doing today?That's a great thing he is eating his greens & salad. Were you able to get more oral fluidsinto him? Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

He still hasn’t pooped in 5 days and he normally goes every day. I’ve been giving him baths but don’t know what else to do. Other than that he is great, and seems happy. Eating fine. But I’m afraid he might be impacted. My mom won’t let me take him to a vet because of how far it is.. what do I do?

It sounds like he is doing a lot better pretty quickly then once you got him warmed up& his body started functioning more optimally, too.How is he doing today?That's a great thing he is eating his greens & salad. Were you able to get more oral fluidsinto him? Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

He still hasn’t pooped in 5 days and he normally goes every day. I’ve been giving him baths but don’t know what else to do. Other than that he is great, and seems happy. Eating fine. But I’m afraid he might be impacted. My mom won’t let me take him to a vet because of how far it is.. what do I do?

You can gently massage your beardie's tummy. Warm baths are always good. How old is your beardie? My baby is about a year old and sometimes she doesn't go for up to five days at a time. When they get older they don't go everyday necessarily. Like others have suggested, misting salads with water helps get some hydration in them. I also give my beardie a blueberry every once in awhile if it seems like shes backed up. That always seems to help. Otherwise as I've seen suggested also, baby food works wonders or apple sauce.

How is your baby today?Is he actively basking for a good portion of the day & does he have a clear beard, or, has itbeen darker in color?As suggested, a nice warm bath, letting him swim can promote GI tract motility along with theextra hydration. The sugar free applesauce & canned pumpkin, mixed with a drop or two ofolive or coconut oil can help a lot also.

How is your baby today?Is he actively basking for a good portion of the day & does he have a clear beard, or, has itbeen darker in color?As suggested, a nice warm bath, letting him swim can promote GI tract motility along with theextra hydration. The sugar free applesauce & canned pumpkin, mixed with a drop or two ofolive or coconut oil can help a lot also.

Let us know how he is doing.Tracie

Thank you all so much for your great suggestions! Ryuk is doing great now. He is basking and moving around his cage like normal. He has eaten fine, and he has finally had a bowel movement. His beard is clear and he is alert and responding to stimuli. After two nights of staying up all night with an unresponsive beardy on my chest on a heating pad because I was sure he was going to die, now all he wants is cuddles. His tank is right next to my bed and he has a new behavior where he will sit and scratch at this side of his tank until I pick him up, then he makes his way to my chest and snuggles up falling asleep. Thank you all again, he is back to his normal self. He made his mama very scared!

That is excellent news to hear! I am so glad that he recovered now. It sounds like he is on theroad to a full recovery too & really wants the attention. Let us know of his progress & you can post pictures as well if you would like.

That is excellent news to hear! I am so glad that he recovered now. It sounds like he is on theroad to a full recovery too & really wants the attention. Let us know of his progress & you can post pictures as well if you would like.